Lone Sun
by vampirediariesff
Summary: "He let himself remember her. And it felt like relieving what once gave him a reason to live." Elena is a 16 yo who is trying to grow up. He's a man who's seen enough of the world to be hurt by it. When a sudden disease creeps violently into their lives, will they both make out of it alive? Or will it just be the end of something doomed from its start? ALL HUMAN
1. Here goes the trouble

**Hey! I'm back. Enjoy this first chapter. This story will be kept updated if you will review. So please do!**

**Lone Sun**

** .**

_Here goes the trouble_

* * *

><p>The fresh breeze of that hot July afternoon flowed copiously through his lungs, releasing the feeling of a new impending summer right ahead of him.<p>

He walked toward a place he had grown accustomed to, silently respecting the nature's ritual before sunset. Watching the birds fight for life in the sky, the light slowly dimming by the minute and the air gently getting chillier, he realized a day was now almost over.

A day that had just marked the year span.

.

This wasn't a simple stroll to the park like any other man would have most likely enjoyed to do.

This was the first time after a long time he was going to let it all it. To relish in the memories that _once_ made him grip onto his only reason to live.

.

Weird how he _now_ just cared about staying alive.

When he got there, he observed the green grass, by now molded by his usual sitting spot.

Damon Salvatore lay down, and his gaze got lost in the cloud while his mind travelled back in time. It came up so easily and so vividly that it seemed like he relieved it all.

Back from the _start_.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

"Come on Damon, where are my car keys?" Stefan Salvatore shouted from downstairs.

His brat of a brother, Damon, sometimes could easily pass as a 12-year-old boy instead of a grown up man.

He was 25, but truth speaking his IDs were the only piece of paper he could be given that age.

.

"No idea Stef." He shouted back, smirking. His moron brother had drank his last bottle of scotch yesterday, out of spite. Better yet, to brag out of being able to pull a cool façade next to his heart stealing girlfriend-to-be, Katy something. The name was too hard to remember, it came from some long lost zone of the Southern Europe.

He shrugged it off.

The girl was hot, though, he had to admit it.

Anyway, it was so not his time to play the field.

Not today, he concluded.

.

He didn't feel like having to bear with his little brother's complaining. After all, he was not that bored… yet.

His bedroom door slammed open, welcoming a very fed off Stefan inside.

"Get over it, Damon. I'm late for school."

"You're such a girl." Damon crossed his legs on his huge poster bed, glib. "Speaking of" he pretended to show surprise "how about the one waiting for you right now? I'm sure she can walk to school." He pretended to come up with a great solution to some unsolvable problem.

"Leave Katherine out of this." Stefan spat. "Get a random girl to play around with and spend your little mind tricks with her, Damon."

.

The younger Salvatore approached the bed. "Give me my car keys" he stressed.

"Ugh" Damon narrowed his brows, clenching his hands on either sides of his head. "Have I ever told you how nerve wrecking you are in the first hours of the morning?"

He handed off the desired item to his brother, closing his eyes in the process.

"Now scram." he cut short. "Unlike you I have an entire morning to sleep my hangover off".

Stefan harshly took the keys, and turned without commenting until he neared the threshold.

.

"Boozer" he muttered, leaving in a rush.

"Heard ya, idiot!" the shout reached his ears when he was fully out of the room.

Good for him. He might as well gotten something thrown at.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

"Do I even need to tell you how weird it is to see you up this early on Monday mornings?" Elena joked on her brother's weekend mundane routines while munching on her cereals.

"Shut up. It's still early." Jeremy muttered, half asleep and half hangover, earning a smile from her.

"Be that way." The girl stood up, meaning to leave the house earlier today. She had a couple things to do before school, and that was the time of the day she liked the most anyway.

When the sun shone but still wasn't that high to be tediously hot.

.

Elena brushed her teeth and headed straight off to her most secretive hiding place.

Just to think of that word, it sounded so immature.

Yet, it really was a safe haven for her.

Walking in silence, she inhaled the fresh, pollution free air of the outskirt road that led to the park right behind the graveyard.

Only one person had known about that place beside her. In fact, it was the very person to have shown it to her one day, when she was visiting her grandparents at the cemetery.

Elena was only 9 when her father had first brought her there.

.

"_Look daddy, a butterfly"_

_The little girl swirled around swiftly, trying to reach out for that beautiful insect that flew freely in the air._

"_Don't touch it" her father Grayson suggested. "Those animals' wings are so fragile that they can break"_

_The girl seemed perplexed by her dad's knowledge. "But they're so beautiful. Why is something so beautiful so fragile?"_

"_They don't need to fly for long. Only a day"_

_The little one now seemed saddened. "And then what happens?"_

_Her father kneeled next to her, smiling sympathetically. "Then they die."_

_ ._

"_But it's so beautiful. Why then can't it be perfect and live forever?" the girl tried to find the explanation by letting her gaze follow the unreachable animal in the sky._

_Her dark doe eyes searched for an answer that couldn't be found._

"_It doesn't make it any less perfect, baby. Let me tell you. It makes it even more special. Only the lucky ones will get to experience its beauty, because then it will be gone forever. But in their hearts" he pointed at the little girl's chest " that's where it will stay forever"._

_ ._

She inhaled slowly.

It had been a year.

A year since her parents had passed away. And so much had changed.

She had been living at her house with her brother and her legal guardian, Alaric Saltzman.

.

Grayson Gilbert had known that man ever since Elena's birth. She wasn't aware of the reasons, but reminiscing of their backyard barbecues with the whole family, they had always seemed like good friends.

And to be honest, Alaric was everything both her and Jeremy could look for in absence of close relatives.

Well, scratch that. They now were a family.

Maybe not the typical American-dream like one, were something special.

.

Elena blocked the escaping memories she so attentively tried to keep well caged in the back of her brain.

She still wasn't ready to relieve the past.

And she wasn't exactly sure if she was ever going to be.

.

Sitting there, she looked around at the waking landscape.

She could never imagine it was only the beginning.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

"Uhm, listen Elena" Alaric cleared his throat, sipping on some water.

It was dinner time, and Jeremy was over analyzing his chicken parmigiana, pretty convinced it looked way too healthy to be eaten without any diet-free sauce.

The girl nodded, as to say she was listening.

.

"What's wrong, Rick?" she prompted, maybe not so ready to listen whatever was going on. He looked overly concerned and uncomfortable.

Was he going to give up on them for good?

That thought, that was the very fear that had haunted Elena for the past twelve months. She had lived with the constant awareness that the lifetime single history teacher could have just decided he'd had enough of taking care of two kids. That, speaking of, were not even blood related to him in any way.

What would it be of her brother and her?

"I'm leaving tomorrow night" Elena flinched, losing two shades of color in her skin tone.

There he went.

.

"What.. what do you mean you're leaving?" the girl's reluctant tone made Jeremy stop his machinations and focus his attention on the two people before him.

She knew it.

She had felt it.

She should have been more prepared. Less disappointed. Less _delusional_.

How could she ever think this was ever going to work?

.

The air was thick with angst.

Alaric widened his eyes. "Oh" he dropped his fork. "No, no!" he raised his hands in an apologetic move,smiling. "I didn't mean that." He smiled. "I meant I'm leaving, yes. But only for a bunch of days. Two, tops. I need to get to Denver, it's where I used to work. I was called by some professors and they need files for an historical thesis on the Virginia colonies during the Civil War."

Elena took a relief breath she tried to keep it as mute as possible.

.

"Oh" the girl nodded, cracking a smile "Of course. You can go can take care of ourselves"

"I'm sure you can" The man smiled genuinely.

Alaric's flight was scheduled the next afternoon, and the man was on the verge of a crisis before stepping out of the door.

It was the first time he was leaving the kids, and he felt sincerely bad about it. And worried.

.

They were only teens.

Jeremy was 15 and Elena 16.

He was, however, counting on the latter for everything to go smoothly. He knew the girl could take care of her brother for a couple days. It's not like they were going to burn the house to the ground while using the microwave.

He was surprised by how those two had bought his heart in less than a year. Even though he wasn't one to display it, he considered them his kids.

.

"We'll be fine" the girl reassured, patting on his shoulders.

"You have your mobiles, right? Keep them always with you, just in case."

Elena smiled "Come on. It's not like you needed to tell him this"

The girl pointed at her brother. "He is constantly using that thing"

Alaric studied the boy for a second. "Yeah, I'm sure" he laughed, amused at Jeremy bored expression.

.

"I'll see you guys on Monday"

And with that, even him was gone.

Elena closed the door behind her, and a weird feeling of loneliness hit her on full blown.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

It wasn't supposed to be that hard.

After all, it was just some pasta. Right?

"Right" Elena murmured, trying to convince herself she could do it.

Cooking had never been one of the Gilberts' strongest suit.

Elena's mother, Miranda, would always stuck to plain meals, it used to be her father (exception to the rule), who usually cared about that aspect.

So you could clearly taste (no pun intended) Elena's frustration when she realized the tomato sauce she'd been heating up literally tasted like over-cooked acid.

.

She didn't even mind to hide her disgusted expression when she dropped the spoon to the counter.

She was even worse than her mom at this.

"I give up" she muttered.

The girl turned backwards, glancing over the sofa where a very focused Jeremy was all caught up on some car race on the Xbox.

She approached her brother, casually.

"Hey Jer!" she exclaimed, half jumping on the other side of the sofa. "So… I was thinking… Why don't we order pizza tonight? It's Friday,after all"

She smiled like a child who'd just broken something she wasn't supposed to touch in the first place.

.

Jeremy raised his eyebrow, glaring over the kitchen for half a second, then back at his sister. "Someone burt dinner.. Or still is" he announced, suddenly finding it more amusing than the game on the tv.

Elena pouted, then hit him playfully on the back of his neck. "Idiot."

After a brief silence,Jeremy began to sniff dramatically.

He paused the game. "No, seriously though." He said, out of the blue. "Turn it off."

It was Elena's turn to raise her eyebrow in a theatrical way. "Uh?"

It took her a moment to realize what her brother meant. "Oh my God!" she blurt out.

Speeding to the kitchen she launched herself to switch the burner off.

"Crap" she spat.

Everything that was meant to be their dinner was now splattered on the stove, totally burnt in a black pot.

.

She inhaled deeply.

This was going to be a long weekend.

It was Sunday morning.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

The persistent ringing of her mobile brought her back from the sleeping reverie.

She groaned.

Although all she tried to do was ignore it, at first, she then realized whoever it was that was being so unyielding actually couldn't wait longer.

She picked up, too sleepy to even check the name on screen.

"Hello?" her voice came out hoarse.

"Elena?" the history teacher's voice suddenly brought her back to Earth. She sat, instinctively.

"What happened,Alaric?" glancing over the clock on her nightstand she realized it was not so early.

11 am.

.

"Well" he was silent for a second, gathering the right words to expose the problem.

"The president of the historical society found my researches –and I'm quoting- "extremely interesting"" she heard the switch of the tone in his voice " and…well, he decided to extend my stay here. I think he wants all the history researchers interested in the topic to cooperate."

She smiled, warm-heartedly. "That's great, Alaric!"

"Really?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Of course I am. That project has taken you so much time and effort" Elena was sincerely happy for him.

.

The realization of what the history teacher's success meant, though,, didn't fail to hit her soon after.

Both her and Jeremy were now going to be on their own, again.

Elena saw her expression reflected in the mirror next to the bed shifting from smiley to nostalgic.

.

"But" Alaric's new voice change gave her hope "don't you guys think I'll leave you alone."

Mind reading much?

No. She was simply predictable.

"Are you providing us with a baby sitter slash house keeper?" she joked.

.

"Well" Elena froze on how hesitant he seemed at his reply.

Oh no.

This wasn't happening… he wouldn't dare, now, would he?

.

"Listen, a really good friend of mine said it wouldn't be a problem for him to keep an eye on you".

There was a small pause.

.

"His name is Damon Salvatore."


	2. By the warmth of a fireplace

**_Hey y'all! Thank you for all the nice reviews! Not even a week, and here you have the second chapter. It's a filler one, so it's gonna be kind of shorter. Please be sure to leave a review, it's deeply needed..and appreciated! Send the love in, and the story will keep on going! _**

**_Pretty please!_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Lone Sun<strong>_

_._

_By the warmth of a fireplace_

_._

"Come on Jeremy, we have to get going" Elena stumbled out of her room, rushing for the stairway.

They were going to the Salvatore's. Supposedly, the owner of their mansion, Damon Salvatore, would be waiting for them.

The two siblings would be having meals there and the man was going to provide them with the needed money for anything else they would have required.

It was afternoon, and even though it was way too early for dinner, a very subtle text by Alaric sent on Elena's phone had specified how appreciative it would be for both her and Jeremy to show up some time before meal time to introduce themselves to the generous Salvatore.

Speaking of dinner, she thought and hoped the owner wasn't one of those old men to cook them savorless soaps with outdated bread for the rest of Alaric's stay out of town. At that point, it would have been better to eat what she could prepare.

Well, not really.

_._

_._

_._

Once in the property the girl realized how it actually looked.

She knew the boarding house, having lived in Mystic Falls her entire life, but she had actually never stopped to observe it in detail.

The siblings stepped on a rustic patio, and just that very zone could fit the first story of their house.

"Wow" Jeremy let out. "Do you think we'll eat Italian?" he questioned, pointing at the family name caved into a raw marble target.

She looked for the bell, just to realize there was none. The girl then figured she had to pull an antique golden-like rope to emit the sound that would announce their presence there.

And, in fact, a weird ring echoed in the space.

"Creepy" Jeremy commented.

_._

She just looked around, amazed by the timeless structure before her eyes.

A few instants later the massive door opened showing a tiny and mature lady dressed in a light blue suit. The woman's big dark eyes scrutinized the two new and unknown faces.

"Good afternoon. How can I help you?" she then asked, in a weird accent that sounded so foreign and distant.

"Hello" Elena greeted back, hinting at a smile.

She hadn't expected this meeting to be so formal.

"I'm Elena Gilbert. We were looking for Mr. Salvatore" Elena announced. "Alaric Saltzman said he would meet me and my brother Jeremy today".

The woman's face lightened, welcoming. "Of course. We were expecting you here, miss."

By the looks on her face, the hostess didn't seem to be accustomed to receive many guests at the house.

Elena half-intuited the reasons. There was something off about this scenario. It all looked so stuck in time, mysterious, with antique memories that rendered the place what it was today.

_._

The housekeeper then widened the door. "Step in, please" she accompanied the invitation with a hand gesture. "Mr. Salvatore will be along very soon, dear."

"You can wait here." she then added, warmly, leading them in the closest room on their right, a huge open space with a very retro and dark furniture and work of arts.

_._

Jeremy cleared his throat once they were alone.

"This looks like a fancy horror movie set. But I like it" he joked, pointing at a canvas portraying some previous Salvatore of the family.

Elena scanned the room in amazement. This man sure was wealthy.

Right in front of her stood, in a marble sculpted ceiling set, a fireplace with the last burning wood in it. The smell of the ashes evoked in her memories of winter and warmth, when she was a young girl and things still had to change.

In the _unfamiliarity_ of that place, she found something that brought her back _home_.

She ignored the weird twinge in her chest. Quickly squeezing her eyes to prevent any mental image to appear before them, she then went back on observing her surroundings.

_._

On the left side of the room, a huge library occupied the entire western wall. It could make any bookstore owner envious of its variety and antiqueness.

Some of the partitions were in a dark wooden structure that lowered the filtering of the light to a minimum, giving the atmosphere of a back in time dimension.

She startled when she heard the thud her brother made when he went to sit on one kitschy red couch in the middle of the room. Just when his sister was about to call him off, his phone started ringing.

"Yeah?" Jeremy replied straight away, spreading his arm on the headrest and getting totally comfortable.

Elena rolled her eyes, focusing her attention on a black piano in the eastern side of the room, in a corner right near the entrance. It was probably the most hidden zone of the space.

She approached the instrument. For a second she wished she could play. The notes of some classical melody would have somehow fit that scenario.

Although it looked old, there was no sign of dust on it. She leaned out a hand to touch it…

_._

"..What?" Jeremy's incredulous voice shook her back from her reverie.

She turned to see her brother caught up in some fun story shared with him on the phone.

When he realized she was looking right back in a scolding expression, he stopped. "Wait a sec Ty. I'll call you back." he said then, hanging off.

"'Lena?" he started, standing up. His voice was already crystal clear on where this conversation was headed.

She looked at him silently, raising an eyebrow. He took it as a good sign to continue with his request.

"There's this sick rap challenge Eric threw on Raiden and …" he trailed off.

"Fine" she exhaled, watching Jeremy's expression brighten. "You go have fun, I can do this." The girl then offered, and her brother did not hesitate a second before disappearing out of the room with a grateful smile on his face.

Elena smiled at how little sometimes it took him to be happy.

_._

Alone in the room, at last, the only audible sound was the steady rhythm of her breathing.

She almost let her thoughts lead her away in time and space once again.

And then she heard him.

_._

_._

_._

"Hello, Elena."

_._

The girl turned with a startle.

She hadn't heard him come. Nor had she imagined this could ever be what Damon Salvatore looked like.

Young, on his twenties, his raven hair left wild, framing his face in a length that could not be considered short, yet not even long.

What made her sigh brief and stuck in her throat was his eyes.

That iced stare that seemed to be scanning through your bones, contemplating your soul and leaving you with no escape but to be utterly vulnerable and lost under his wide and attractive aura.

This was Damon Salvatore.

He looked at her, slightly tilting his head to the side while entering the parlor.

"Hi" she breathed.

He took her in, in silence, without saying a word. It made her hold her renewed breath for longer.

_._

Damon had this way of holding his posture, of owning the space, that made her question her own presence in the room, stirring something in the back of her mind she couldn't exactly name.

She felt uncomfortable, yet she wanted to know what this man had that made him feel so… singular, unreadable… _unreachable_.

This bothered her. To feel belittled by someone who probably thought had _won_ all battles. She held her chin higher, adjusting her shoulders to look straighter.

_._

"I'm sorry I came over beforetime" Elena tried to break the silence he was using to his own advantage. "I thought I would introduce myself. But I realized I should have given a call to the house..."

He approached her more.

"Don't be silly." Damon crooked a smile, his voice deep. "You're welcome anytime. _Alaric_ already had me informed."

_._

She let a relief breath flow through her lungs at the sound of her guardian's name. At least the guy didn't think she wasn't being polite. Now, that would have raised a big wall of awkwardness for the multiple further approaches.

Elena nodded, finding her gaze to be locked into his.

He noticed how she did not look away. She held his glance long enough for him to consider her a spunky little thing.

"Speaking of" it was his turn now to interrupt the silence now "How rude of me not to introduce _myself_" he put an emphasis on the last word, as to accentuate the importance his person had.

"My name is Damon Salvatore."

Elena took his hand, and at the contact, he realized how tiny it felt inside his strong and firm grip.

_._

He then finally took her entire figure in.

She was not tall. She was average height. Definitely nothing to do with those unreal models in New York City he used to _hang out_ with. Ah, the good times.

Anyway, It somehow made her look even more… vulnerable. This girl had most likely seen nothing of the world. For a split second he felt sympathy for her.

He realized how unreal the impact that you get was, once you drove outside of Mystic Falls. There was a strange way the time had to pass in that boring, senseless town.

He could get anything he wanted because of who he was. Because of what life had made him.

However, being back in that town made him feel like if it were back to where it all started. All the pieces of his older soul came furiously up to the surface, because his hometown had no regards. Once you stepped into it, no matter who you had tried to be when you were outside, it was able to bring back all the shadowed ashes of the skeletons in your closet.

No matter how distant your past was.

_._

Damon went on with his observation, and he realized at last what looked singular about her.

The fire in the eyes of the girl before him shone vividly enough that it overshadowed the immaturity of her age. Her curvy figure reflected her plump and pink lips that fit perfectly with the olive tone of her flawless skin.

_._

Then the door slammed hard, startling her.

Damon raised his eyes to the sky. "Welcome home, brother". He then sarcastically greeted, without turning.

Elena was now curious. Alaric hadn't mentioned her the presence of _two_ Salvatores.

She followed his gaze, confused.

_._

A guy, probably a couple years older than her, walked through the corridor she had come from. He then threw his backpack onto the ground, careless of the stuff contained in it.

Damon's brother acknowledged her presence just when the elder Salvatore dramatically cleared his throat. "So much for good manners" he then commented.

Stefan quickly glanced a couple times back and forth between his brother and the girl standing beside him.

She looked much younger than Damon, and he sincerely hoped she wasn't being a part of his renewed wicked schemes. He, however, relaxed a bit when he noticed she did not look like his type.

Damon was a womanizer.

The girl could easily pass as a freshman.

Again, Stefan prayed for his own sake not to witness to any illegal sexual relationship, slash exchange service right in his own house.

_._

_._

_._

"Stefan" Damon started, while his brother stepped in the room. "this is Elena Gilbert".

She invisibly flinched when she heard him pronounce her full name.

"Elena" his crooked grin was now directed to her "this is my brother, Stefan Salvatore."

_._

"Hey" Stefan finally started off, not really sure on how to approach her.

"Hi" she said, smiling softly. Elena admired how even his eye color was a particular feature of his face. It probably was a family gift, then. Stefan's emeralds depth studied her for a couple seconds.

_._

"Uhm…Damon can I talk to you for a sec?" Stefan addressed to the man.

His brother glared at him, then faked a smile at the girl in front of him. What was with him now?

_._

"It was nice meeting you, Elena." He cut short, polite.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Damon" she pronounced the words carefully.

"Yeah" he replied, crooking a grin. "You're welcome. " and with that, he took her offered hand and after having it shaken, he neared his lips to it and left a delicate kiss in a retro goodbye style.

_._

After that exchange, she finally felt free to leave the room.

She left the house, taking in the fresh breeze that blew on her face when she opened the enormous entrance door.

_._

_._

_._

_._

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Stefan blurt out.

"None of your business" Damon spluttered, pouring himself a drink. He'd had enough of thinking… and talking.

His brother, on the other hand, remained silent, waiting for further information.

Damon decided to ignore him. Like always, anyway.

"That girl is not even eighteen!" the younger Salvatore pressed, in unbelief. "What is wrong with you?"

_._

In a blunt action, Damon slammed the thick glass on the bar counter, the noise echoing in the silent room.

"When ever my life actions have been any of your concerns?" he retorted, sharp.

"Is this even what this is all about? To punish me for something happened in the past?" Stefan blew out back at him, not worrying about bringing it all back.

_._

Damon, who'd been staring outside the window to gain composure, suddenly froze. Then, in what seemed like unending seconds, turned to face his brother.

"Leave Stefan." He said, glacial. He brought back his eyes to the lavender outside. "Now".

His eyes had reflected the tone in his voice, vacant yet damn intimidating. That was the thing about him. The more detached he was, the more he could scare you.

_._

His brother knew he had pushed him too far, but he didn't care.

Leaving before making this evolve into a literal fight, however, was what Stefan decided to go with.

_._

Walking out of the parlor, he wondered how things between the two of them could have gotten so tediously messed up.

Blood relations are supposed to be for life. Then why did this seem to be the shadow of the brother he once used to have?

_._

_._

_._

_Blood tickling down his forearm, he realized what he had before him was his blood._

"_I'm dying, Damon" he whispered, weakly, gazing at the blood stained shirt of his brother. _

"_No you're not, you moron!" the older brother shot back, flustered. "You're not!"_

_Damon took Stefan's face in his hands shaking it slightly to keep him awake. "Don't close your eyes, Stefan! Focus!"_

_And for a second, Stefan felt selfish for leaving his brother this way. Would he ever get over this? _

_._

"_Even you. You don't get to die on me, you understand?" Damon screamed in his face, taking Stefan's shoulders in his own strong grip. _

_._

_That was the last thing he saw before it all went blank, as the fire burnt the last twigs in the fireplace, leaving the place cold. _


	3. The dinner guest

_**Enjoy ;) Author' s note at the end of the chapter **_

**Lone Sun**

_The dinner guest_

.

.

.

She rang the extravagant bell with an enormous intake of breath.

Jeremy, on the other hand, did not seem to place his emotions in the discomfort and awkwardness zone…yet.

.

Again, they were met with the maid of their previous encounter.

She led them into a room adjacent to the parlor, and it had nothing to envy compared to the latter.

Cristal glasses and ceramic plates where elegantly arranged on the huge wooden circle table, and the Victorian candle holder in the midst of it gave the whole room the vibes of an ancient dinner among respectable figures of two centuries earlier.

It all seemed so historical and wealthy.

.

Elena could not help but felt flattered by such a welcome.

.

.

.

"They must be here" Damon commented, his usual grin on full display. He had heard the voices and the front door slam shut.

Stefan ignored his brother, by simply walking straight off into the hallway that lead to the lower story.

"Oh don't be such a grumpy cat" he teased his younger sibling, who, despite the need to kick his ass off, kept on using the strategy of silence.

.

.

.

When Stefan put his foot on the last step, the housekeeper appeared, smiling at him.

"Stefan, dear, your friends are over" she announced.

Elena's heart warmed at the impact she'd had with this woman. Her way of treating any kid that was near her, and the eyes of someone who had lived for so long, kind of inspired some inexplicable trust toward her. It was a maternal figure the girl missed so much in her life.

Moreover, the lovingly way Stefan responded to her, made Elena question what the Salvatore's backstory was.

Where had all of their family _gone_?

.

"Thank you, Neda" the younger brother approached.

.

The woman then turned to see Elena standing almost behind her.

"May I help you with anything, miss?"

Just then, the girl realized she must have looked creepy by appearing silently out of the blue.

"Yes, actually." She smiled sympathetically. "I was wondering where the bathroom was…"

"Oh" Neda acknowledged. "It's the third door of the second corridor, on your left."

Stefan quickly smiled at her, and then went to the dining room.

"Thank you" he heard Elena say.

.

.

.

Wherever this was going, he didn't think he could put up with this perfect house guest façade.

Let's admit it.

He was not one to be social. He could get everything he needed by simply showing off his handsome little face. Anything else that required more effort was not exactly worth it.

He could live on sex and Bourbon. No need for bonding or any extracurricular social activity.

So why was he doing this, again?

Oh, yes.

Alaric Saltzman and his outrageous requests. He had lamely played the forsaken kids card on him, and honestly, Damon had really thought he was going to have to buy full storages of diapers and pacifiers.

But to be quite honest, this Elena girl didn't seem like a three year old homeless child.

His buddy Rick could really be a drama queen sometimes.

Come on.

He himself had lived off on sandwiches for most of his _wild_ teen years, how could these two kids make any more of a difference?

Ah, nowadays' spoiled brats.

.

He was doing this because of Rick's enormous and exasperating self-righteousness. It was going to be the ruin of him.

.

His only reliable drinking friend had this tiny flaw. To _over-care_ for others.

Damon, on the other hand, was going to do what he had been asked, strictly sticking to it. Nothing more.

"_Keeping an eye on them_".

Easy. Done.

.

Check they do not slit their wrists, set the house on fire, etcetera, etcetera.

Was he expected to act like the father of the year, as well?

Nope. Not as far as he could remember.

.

So, he was going to do what needed to be done without further titivation.

.

Hastily sipping down the remaining drops of alcohol, he found the liquid still had not done the job to ease him up a little bit.

His earlier discussion with his annoying brother still had not been removed from the back of his mind. It had, in fact, generated trains of thoughts that had lead him on the bad mood road for the rest of the afternoon.

.

This was one of _those_ days.

He needed an outlet, more powerful than a couple glasses of Bourbon.

It was either a booze or a goddamn night of wild sex.

Probably both.

.

.

.

He grinned evilly at the idea.

.

.

.

"Oh" he turned when he heard the female voice.

Right on the top of the two stairs stood Elena, embarrassed by the sight before him. Out of all the rooms she could have gotten lost into… Did she really have to end up here?

.

"I'm sorry" she apologized. "I was just… I went to the bathroom and with the lights out I couldn't find my way back."

He tried to contain another smirk.

.

"'Evening, Elena" he greeted, passing over her.

She saw him approach and go ahead. The scent of aftershave and some strong alcohol filled her nostrils, and she almost winced at the impact it had on her.

"Follow me" without adding a single comment to her statement, he then instructed with a gesture of his chin.

.

.

.

Who was Damon Salvatore?

Because she couldn't tell.

.

A voice in the back of her head tried to warn her not to trust her earlier encounter. There had been something off about it.

Then, this.

All the _appearance_. The politeness she had found in their invite, in their hosting.

Right now, she had seen a different light in his eyes. They seemed darker…_lost_.

He hadn't even bothered to sound like that afternoon.

.

Something had changed.

.

She didn't know, but this thought was going to haunt her for the rest of the night.

.

.

.

Getting to the parlor seemed easier said than done.

The house was dark, and immense. She almost thought this was some twisted Harry Potter reality and that she was going to find out something magical about the people who lived in it.

.

Little did she know she was, _somehow_, right.

.

.

.

She followed his lead silently, not daring to break the silence.

Once near the parlor, she saw they were approaching the lights that brought them to the dining room, and she took a relief breath, noticing how every muscle in her body finally let some tension out.

.

"'Evening" the man politely met with the two other people in the room.

"I assume you are Jeremy" Damon approached the kid, who had been standing behind the huge medieval chair.

"Yeah, it's me" the younger Gilbert nodded.

"Well it's good to know. Otherwise I would have just kicked you out" the witty remark was met by a forced grin of the kid.

Elena rolled her eyes, not in the position to add any further comment.

She felt already out of place as it was, did he really need to stress on the fact they were being nothing but a bother to him?

.

.

.

"You know," Stefan addressed to Jeremy, who had been showing to like his new acquaintance. "I really haven't seen you around."

And it was true.

Jeremy was a loner. That side of him had grown beyond the expectable after their parents' death.

He, then, had been on a roller coaster of bad experiences and wrong friendships. It had been what every kid goes through during their teen years, only concentrated in one year span.

Enough to drive Elena and Alaric crazy.

.

But things had stopped to happen when the _Elena_ _thing_ had presented itself.

The girl flinched at the memory, her blood suddenly going cold.

.

"Could say the same about you" Jeremy pointed out, and gained a bitter smirk from Stefan.

"Stefan has been around. Italy, to be more specific. Elena are you enjoying your dinner?"

The sudden switch of attention and hidden meaning of the question caught Elena off guard.

.

He had seen her living in another planet for the previous two minutes, and he had guessed the food on her plate was not exactly her problem in that moment, given the furrowing of her brows.

.

She looked up to quickly meet his gaze, then turned to face Stefan and Jeremy.

"I'm sorry" she weakly smiled. "I spaced"

Couldn't one just have their own mind going through private thoughts for a second?

His behavior was really getting to her.

He was a lunatic, self-centered _desperate_ cause.

.

The girl silently and sarcastically thanked the Universe for concentrating the two flaws she mostly hated into one single person she was practically forced to show some fake respect to.

.

"So Elena" Damon started "who do you wanna be when you get old?" he smirked.

"Like you?" Stefan ruined the moment for his good old brother. Jeremy muffled a laugh by sipping on some water.

Damon quickly squint at his brother, then hinted at a fake smile.

.

"I wanna travel" Elena said.

"Oh" Damon mimicked approval. "That's good. Every kid nowadays wants to do it, it takes guts."

Her reply had seemed too shallow to him. Nothing compared with the look that appeared in her eyes when the girl had pronounced the words.

In that very moment, it had seemed to him that she was going –again- any place else with her mind that was fairly away from there. That was why his subtle commentary had quickly followed.

He had predicted to stir some pride in her to get out some deeper information to his question.

Instead, all he got in response was her flaring up.

.

"Well, everyone has their motives." she replied, freezing the air in the room.

.

Damon took his glass, raising it to toast. "Let's drink then. For the future."

And with an elegant tilt of his glass against hers, they cheered to whatever road was going to lead them to their growth.

.

.

.

.

.

"Dude, I will show you that. Got it last week."

Jeremy had been instructing Stefan on the latest Xbox games, apparently trending in that season, and suggested he may try them out.

The two liked each other.

Jeremy needed someone "_calmer_" in his life and Elena surely did not object to the newborn friendship.

She watched them talk on the couch, with game cards in hand playing something she would probably never understand.

She had settled to examine the library, while the table was being set off and Damon had been pouring the guys some drinks.

.

"You're not drinking, Jer" the girl addressed to his brother.

"Oh, come on" the younger Gilbert pleaded. "Just a sip."

Elena glared, interrupting her activity to cast more attention toward her brother.

"Fine" he muttered, as Stefan smiled at the exchange.

.

"How old are you, Jeremy?" Damon dared to interrupt.

"Fifteen" he spat, as if it were the worst deal of his life.

"Very well then." He took some steps toward the girl's brother. "That's what you get."

With a quick gesture, the man handed a glass to the kid.

.

Elena was speechless. How dare he?

"But.." Jeremy began, as he raised his glass in disappointment. "It's _empty_"

.

The girl found it hard to hold a relief breath and a smile.

"Well, it depends on the point of view. Look at it closely. It's not empty _empty_"

Damon said, jokingly.

"It's just a few drops." Jeremy muttered, and settling for the Salvatore's point of view he swallowed down whatever liquid was in the glass.

.

.

Just then, Neda came in the room.

"You asked for your belongings, Miss Gilbert."

"Thank you" the girl smiled, tenderly.

.

Damon did not miss the exchange. He quickly finished his last sip of scotch and neared his guest.

.

"I'll show them out" the man suggested the maid, with a gesture of his hand.

"Have a good night" the woman addressed to Elena, whom, with the same expression as before replied.

"You too."

.

Damon noticed her face switch from friendly to polite in an instant.

While the two neared the threshold, Elena called out: "Jeremy, time to go!"

.

The silence that followed was full of unspoken commentary on each other's flaws.

"I appreciated the gesture with my brother." Elena began, unsure on whether to stop her glance on his face or not. In the end, she settled for the beautiful landscape ahead of her.

She had gone with the only thing about him she had liked.

Besides, the trees of the woods and the night sounds gave her a feeling of calmness, so she decided to let that inner peace sink in her whole body.

.

"I'm just doing what I was told." Damon explained, hinting at Alaric.

"Yeah" she replied, her voice on the edge of bitterness.

Again, that tedious feeling of being a bother came rushing up to the ocean of her thoughts.

She looked down.

.

"I mean" he interrupted her silence, realizing his latter words. "It's a pleasure to pay Grayson back somehow."

This time it was his turn to look at the immense extend of woods on fields in front of them, as he let himself be honest for the first time.

.

Elena's heart clenched in her chest.

"You knew my father?" her brown depths caught his, gleaming in a way he had never seen before.

.

It took him a moment to answer.

"I did" his voice lowered. "He was a great person." The silence pressed him to go further down the honesty road. "A good friend."

.

The girl's eyes inevitably filled with sorrow and water, all questions for a second forgotten.

.

"Thank you" she whispered.

He crooked a smile.

How ironic, that after so long, he was the one who would get to be thanked by a Gilbert.

This was life.

.

.

.

Jeremy and Stefan's voice brought them back to Earth.

She startled, recollecting her thoughts, finally ready to head home.

.

"We'll see you tomorrow." Elena greeted the two Salvatores, then, with her brother by her side, took off to the solitary Gilbert house. "Thank you again" was the last dismiss.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Sat on the edge of the roof, he admired the infinite property that the Salvatore mansion was.

The irony in it was how much space could ever be used by such a few people.

Two, to be exact.

Him and his little brother.

.

Damon could not recall the last time he had had someone else in the picture.

It had always been the two of them, caring for one another yet not being able to stand each other's presence most of the times.

Yet a few hours before, when the alcohol still had to kick off in his system, it had seemed to him that a small light of his younger years had flickered back ever so slightly.

Seeing Stefan sat at the same table as his, spending some time without bringing back caged demons of the past or any uncomfortable memory at all… It had almost seemed to him that they could be carefree kids again.

.

But this, of course, was only a wicked thought his drunk mind was playing on him.

.

And why had it happened?

Yes.

_Elena_. Elena and her brother.

Who so reminded him of how things used to be with his sibling way before everything had started.

He envied the girl for being in such a simple place with her life.

.

The little side note of their parents being dead didn't exactly ring in his mind. After all, they had Rick.

He wished he had someone to take care of him and pay the bills.

Not that he actually needed that.

But wait. What the hell was he thinking about?

.

Bitterly, he swallowed down half of the amber liquid contained in the expansive bottle.

In sheer weakness, he let his shoulders fall backwards on the tiles of the roof.

.

"This will do" he muttered, satisfied with the calming effect of his Bourbon.

.

His mind stopped wandering in meaningless places and gave him enough silence to fall asleep.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The next morning, Elena was wide-awake early enough to run that errand before her morning routine. The noises coming down from the sky had made her sleep lighter and shorter.

.

Headed to the mansion, she realized –again- she should have given a call to the house, just to conclude she actually did not have any number.

Stepping in the property, the girl inhaled the fresh air coming for the expanses of woods and fields all around.

Once again, it gave her a feeling of tranquility.

.

.

.

She was about to knock when she heard it.

The meowing of a tiny red cat right next to a bush surprised her.

"Hey there" she cooed.

The kitten made a sign of attention toward the girl. It rubbed against her legs to then show her signs of discomfort.

"What is it, baby?" the girl kneeled, slightly scratching between its ears.

The animal ran toward the eastern side of the porch, right before the backyard, and then sat, gazing at her.

It meowed again, and she could not help but follow his lead.

.

Elena sincerely hoped the little one was not reserving her any dead surprises as cats are used to doing. She remembered her experience with a cat she had when she was just 8.

That year, she had bought the little kitten home from the streets.

She recalled Miranda gave it away to their distant uncles because it kept on retrieving home little dead creatures that were not such a pleasant greeting.

.

The girl then heard another sound. It could have probably been defined as a noise.

.

Not realizing where the disturbing thing came from, she casually glanced up in the tree before her.

.

It was then that she saw it.

.

"Oh my God!" she muffled her scream of frighten with her hands, afraid it might have scared him.

It was Damon.

Damon Salvatore sleeping on the roof.

God help her slow her heartbeat down.

That man was nuts.

She really had freaked out. She was expecting a dead mouse or a bird, not someone asleep on the highest roof of the mansion! The girl took a couple seconds to recollect her thoughts.

.

And then the sky thundered, again.

He had to get down from there. Or this was not gonna end well for him.

.

Fearing for the guy, Elena tried to gather some little stones from the ground to throw at him.

She did not want to scream his name, afraid it might have startled him and made him fall from that height.

.

"For God's sake" she muttered, launching the first couple of pebbles.

Still nothing.

.

Two more.

He moved his leg.

.

It probably had been fate. Or, if you wanted to see the glass –no pun intended – half full, she backed off some inches before seeing the transparent frame near her from the sky.

.

Another thunder.

.

Then she did not see anything else.

She only heard a scream.

.

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.

.

.

_**A/N: So! Got a reference of Ian's cat in the story! The little one helped the story flow!**_

_**Reviews are lovely! The 50**__**th**__** reviewer will get a say in the story! **_

_**xo**_


	4. Bourbon and rain

_**I want to apologize in advance for having been absent for so long. It won't happen again. **_

_**If you're still here it means you're willing to read more about this story… Therefor no more chit chat, let's get to it, shall we? **_

_**Enjoy! And happy 2015!**_

_**Lone Sun**_

Had there ever been a more uncomfortable and preoccupying situation before in his life?

"Fuck" Damon cursed under his breath. "Wake up, Elena!"

He grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her gently to try to get her to be conscious again.

Fuck.

Rick was gonna kill him. One thing he had asked. To keep the kids safe.

And he had almost murdered one.

"Wake up!" he shook more vivaciously the tiny frame of her body, realizing how pale her complexion had gotten.

That was the moral of his life. Never, any of his actions, could go undetected. There always had to be something or someone that in the end would rat him out.

But right now he couldn't bring himself to be mad at her.

He remembered the fastidious hits he had gotten while asleep.

The man had moved his legs, stirring up. And his heavy, empty bottle of Bourbon had been flung down the roof, where –of course- the girl had to be standing, never guessing the unpredictable turn of events.

Damon could not see where she had been hit. He had only heard the loud impact on the ground.

Thus why he had thrown himself down the height almost dislocating an ankle and had rushed to the unconscious body on the floor.

"You won't get me in trouble for this. Wake up!" he spat frantically, taking urgently her small face in his hands. He realized this was the first time he was making real contact with her. She felt so soft and cold.

It started to rain, almost as if the situation wasn't enough messed up as it was.

"Great" he thought. Just what they needed.

"Elena!" Damon called out again, shaking her frame ever so slightly.

Still nothing.

She didn't remember how she got there, but there was some sting that was really bothering her.

Elena groaned in discomfort.

It hurt, but she couldn't exactly place where.

It was like if her mind reacted to any thought or intake of breath by emitting stings of pain.

"Elena!" someone called her name, from far away.

So it was the voice's fault. That sting.

She slowly opened her eyes, relieved by something cold in contact with her face.

Then she remembered.

"Damon…" Elena murmured, as she focused on the blue depths staring at her in concern.

She saw him release a long relief breath, his shoulders easing up.

"You're okay" he stated, matter-of-factly.

Why did his eyes look so concerned?

She finally gained control of her body and her mind, realizing they were standing in the middle of a thunderstorm.

And she remembered. She had hit her head hard, something had come down from the floor and she had had to embrace herself for the impact on the floor.

His damn bottle of Whiskey.

Not having the time to object, he took her in his firm grip, effortlessly lifting her up from the ground. All the effects of booze officially gone, Damon took Elena in his arms to the boarding house.

She still didn't have the strength to contradict him.

Instead, she found herself adapting to his broad chest, slowly sneaking her cheek in the crook of his neck to hide from the drops that got heavier and more fastidious by the second.

And again she was hit with his cologne, mixed with the vague scent of alcohol.

This time, she didn't pull back.

It wasn't that unpleasant, after all.

She was too caught up in the way his steady breath reached her to notice, finding it had a soothing effect on her own breathing.

When they got in the parlor, Damon placed Elena down on the couch.

"You okay?" he questioned.

Silence. He quickly glanced over her to check she hadn't gotten any brain trauma from the good hit.

"Why would you even sleep on a roof?" she protested, all the feeling of dizziness suddenly forgotten.

Well, if this wasn't a healthy Elena…

Damon raised an eyebrow, taken aback.

So now he was the one to blame?

"You should mind your own business, little girl" he spat back, sarcasm leaving his sentence with each pronounced word.

He so needed his breakfast of champions like right now.

Better yet, he craved it.

She flinched, and then clenched her fists at his prompt comeback.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, realizing the harshness in his voice in his previous sentence.

He didn't mean for it to come out that meanly.

His depths caught hers, but she promptly looked away.

"I'm fine." she then spat, detached.

Elena tried to focus her attention on anything else but his face.

It stimulated anger and resentment in her, and right now worrying would have just made things worse.

She pulled a strand of wet hair from her hair, just to realize it was totally soaked.

"Oh" she muttered, as she touched right in the spot the bottle had hit her.

It sting like hell.

Elena squeezed her eyes in pain.

"Crap" she unconsciously let out when the dark crimson liquid fell down from her fingers to her elbow.

Blood.

"Shit" he thought.

He hadn't realized she had been bleeding. The damn rain had been washing everything away as soon as it came out. But now, taking her whole face in he realized the mess she had gotten herself into.

Rushing to the bar he grabbed a fancy cloth and approached Elena.

He could either leave her to take care of it or take her to the hospital.

Either way, both choices were extreme.

So he settled for the one that sounded so out of character of him but that he had to do, in the sake of Rick's friendship.

"Let me see" he said in a low, controlled voice.

She eyed him, not sure to be able to pull the part of a kid who just got a scratched knee.

"I'm fine" she replied proudly, ignoring the feeling of copious flow she could feel on top of her forehead.

He didn't miss that, nor did he miss how her brows frowned at the sight of blood.

So, ignoring her requests he took away her hand and analyzed the wound, reminiscing the good old days in which things like these were mandatory.

It was not that deep to need stitches, yet he could bet it wasn't painless either.

"I guess today is your lucky day" he announced, faking happiness.

She decided to focus her attention somewhere else, settling for looking outside the window instead.

"It's not deep" he added, all feeling of amusement pretty much lost.

Taking back the cloth from her hands he placed it on the wound, and it took her aback when she realized how gentle he was being in such act.

Damon left the room without adding a word and she thought she would be done with him for the rest of the day, finally he had listened to her one request.

So she stood up, ignoring the pounding in her head that would just not stop.

Nearing the bar, she grabbed a glass and looked for something that would resemble to water.

But apart from gin and some other unknown liquor, she didn't find any.

Stupid, hypocrite and glib.

Damn Damon Salvatore.

Damn him and his Bourbon.

Snorting, she headed out of the room to get to the kitchen, focusing on the intricate pattern of the carpets on the floor, not really caring where she was going.

Looking around would only make her head spin more.

The impact was pretty hard.

She found herself –already instable for the previous hit- losing her balance from the collision and falling backwards when a set of hands caught her by the small of her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Damon asked, his blue depth now as close as ever.

Not again.

Out of the greatness of his house and all the places he could be, this was twice she literally bumped into him.

He let go of her when he saw she had regained balance, holding back a satisfied smirk when he saw how she pouted.

"I wasn't done" he claimed, raising an eyebrow and showing her the first aid kit case.

This was going to be more mortifying than she thought.

"I'll do it on my own" she proposed.

"Last I checked us humans don't have eyes up there" he eyed at her head.

"I'll use a mirror" she spat. "Last I checked we're in the twenty-first century" she muttered in a low voice.

"Sit" he ordered with no objection, pointing at a fancy bench in the hallway.

She only complied because she wanted to be done with him. At least he would shut up.

She didn't feel any pain during the medication. Instead, when she found he had to touch her hair to remove it from her wound, she found it felt…nice. Relaxing.

Elena closed her eyes, taking a deep sigh.

"Done" he announced shortly after.

She opened her eyes, and _finally_ took him in.

"Dude and he was literally asking her that while he had that freaking vegan shake all splattered onto his face" Jeremy's laugh filled the room along with Stefan's.

"He even said the other girl's name then" the younger Salvatore commented, amused.

"It was a damn remake of an episode of Jersey Shore, I swear" Jeremy added, laughing out like a kid.

High school gossip… the worst. But at least they were having fun over silly little things.

This was something that the Gilberts hadn't done in a while.

And the same thing could be said about Stefan.

Elena wasn't feeling very hungry. But watching her brother laugh in this way after such a long time really warmed her up and made her feel good inside.

She suddenly felt weird…observed.

Glancing sideways, Elena caught Damon's eye.

He had been looking at her, smiling as a reflection of the warmth in the atmosphere.

She found herself doing the same, contagiously, but looked away soon after.

"Speaking of chick..." Jeremy teased. "Bow down for the Slavic one"

"The… Slavic one?" Stefan was amused by Jeremy's description.

"What was her name again?" Damon joined the conversation, munching on pickles.

"Katherine." Stefan replied.

"Oh, right. Not so Slavic though." The elder Salvatore commented on the name.

"Oh but wait to see her" Jeremy blurt out, the beer kicking in.

Somehow, Elena was sure that wasn't his first drink of the night. She shrugged it off anyway, his brother looked genuinely happy.

"She's like tall and.." he gestured "big breasts".

"Jeremy!" Elena scolded, yet she couldn't keep the smile to herself.

"Don't be hard on the guy" Damon talked to her, keeping his entertained smirk on his lips. "At least we know he's on the good road for hottie choices" and then he blinked.

She rolled her eyes, still not completely wiping the smile off her face.

"So, when do I have the honor of meeting your girl?" Damon faked politeness.

"Soon." Stefan replied, drinking up some wine.

"Mhm" was his only reply,full of implications .

The dinner went by easily, just like the rest of the night.

Elena offered to clean the dishes while Stefan promptly refused to let her do the dirty work alone, helping her out while Jeremy was picking up the games for the Xbox.

He shared a lot of interests with her, being readings and retro movies she thought no normal teenager would have ever known about.

He seemed like another century kind of guy, and this made her feel unharmed by all those facets you have to pull when you're being around young people these days.

She knew he would be a very good friend, and it warmed her heart.

After Bonnie's departure to Florida for the summer, she had felt very lonely.

She used to hang out with her the most. Caroline was not so close to her, and especially ever since her parent's death Elena realized the girl would be giving her unwanted fluffy attentions that would only make her feel worse.

And she was so not a charity cause.

So Stefan,being Stefan, was so far the only decent person she had met.

Once they were done, she neared the front porch like the previous night, to let the soft summer breeze soothe her mind down before bed.

The athmosphere looked magical, out of time. That corner of Mystic Falls seemed like a separated place on Earth, far from what she had ever known.

"…know this doesn't end up here. I won't think twice before doing it again."

His voice got to her ear before he made his appearance from the eastern alley of the garden on the back of the house.

Elena caught a glimpse of his shaken expression with the corner of her eye before he could step back into his unreadable face zone and wear that veil that made it hard to the world to tell what he was thinking.

What had just happened?

She wasn't too close to ask him, so she settled for being polite instead.

Maybe this would have soothed him.

"Thank you.." Elena said, her words the only sound in the silence of the night.

Damon –who had almost walked through the threshold in his house- stopped on his tracks, giving her back to her.

"You don't have to thank me every time you have dinner over".

The coldness in his tone made her flinch.

"I meant for the bandage." she specified, trying not to sound peeved by his harshness.

He slowly turned to face her, the contrast with the light rays of moonlight on her face made her eyes look even darker and deeper.

How he would have wanted to go back and live her young years… She knew nothing of the world. So many things in her world surrounded her, and she looked at each of them as if seeing everything for the first time.

Elena was true, raw… Full of life and fire.

She was everything he wished he could be.

Everything he had lost and wouldn't be able to get back.

Hinting at a nod, he walked in in silence and went to face his demons alone, in the dead of night.

"Goodnight Elena."


End file.
